A Foundation Grant at Work

The Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation improved the financial literacy skills of both students and educators through their collaborative Biz Kid$ pilot program, which focused on personal financial education and training for teachers, and featured a Biz Kid$ Entrepreneur Contest for students. Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation received a Biz Kid$ Financial Education Grant from the National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) to help fund this initiative.

“We are excited to help fund Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation’s innovative program,” said Danielle Brown, Director of Development & Donor Relations for the Foundation. “It is a creative way to integrate Biz Kid$ into the classroom and get kids engaged. Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation’s program is an excellent example of how credit unions can improve people’s financial lives in a creative and engaging way.”

Three credit unions participated in the program and partnered with local schools, selecting up to three teachers each to work with. Beacon FCU partnered with Horace Mann Junior High, FivePoint CU with Hamshire-Fannett Middle School, and Dallas CU with Francisco “Pancho” Medrano Middle School.

In January of this year, Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation, in partnership with the Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Greater Dallas, conducted a training session that provided personal financial education for teachers, and tips and techniques on how to teach the Biz Kid$ program.

Teachers then implemented the Biz Kid$ curriculum into the classroom and worked with their students to create a business plan for a community organization, incorporating the entrepreneur skills learned through Biz Kid$.

Each school worked with their partner credit union to come up with a business plan, and then presented those plans to an impartial panel of judges.

In the end, Beacon FCU and its partnering school, Horace Mann Middle School, won for their “Yum Yum Shop” school-sponsored concession stand.

“I’m confident that this experience made an impression on the students,” said Courtney Moran, Executive Director of CSCUF. “Having gone through this exercise, they have a better sense of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. And perhaps more importantly, they understand how important it is as a consumer, and small business owner, to have that credit union relationship.”

The overall winner, the “Yum Yum Shop”, has officially continued as a business and only opens when needed for philanthropic reasons within the school.

A Foundation Grant at Work
This “Grant at Work” is part of a series that highlights Foundation grantees who made a positive impact in their community and empowered consumers to achieve financial freedom through credit unions. Grants are made possible by supporters of the Foundation.

Biz Kid$ - Teaching Kids about Money & Business
Biz Kid$ is a financial literacy initiative launched nationally in January 2008 that teaches kids about money and business. The initiative includes an award-winning TV series, free classroom curriculum, outreach activities, and a website targeting children 9 – 16 years old. The Foundation is responsible for the fundraising and outreach of the program, and a coalition of over 300 credit unions and affiliates from across the country have helped exclusively fund Biz Kid$.

Many credit unions leverage Biz Kid$ to teach financial education in schools in their community. In addition to the Foundation’s box sets and starter kits, companion materials and other resources for teachers and parents are available at no cost on the Biz Kid$ website, bizkids.com. The site also features clips from the series and invites kids to appear on the show.